Single serve dispenser for a powdered nutrient

ABSTRACT

The dispenser disclosed herein serves a single serving of a powdered nutrient contained within a container having multi-servings of the powdered nutrient. The dispenser has a metering device that operates as a ball valve or guillotine to dispense a single serving of the powdered nutrient into a water container. The dispenser also has a support surface that can be lowered and raised back up in order to fit a water container under the metering device and a distal tip of the metering device into a mouth of the water container so that no powdered nutrient spills out of the water container during transfer of the powdered nutrient from the metering device to the water container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

The dispenser disclosed herein relates to a single serve dispenser for apowdered nutrient.

In today's quick paced environment, powdered nutritional food is one wayto consume energy fast. Oftentimes, powdered nutritional food isprovided in bulk to consumers in a large container containingmulti-servings of the powdered nutritional food. Each time the consumerwants to consume the powdered nutritional food, the user must scoop outone or more servings of the powdered nutritional food into a bowl or cupto mix the powdered nutritional food with water or other fluids.Unfortunately, during the process of scooping the powdered nutritionalfood into the bowl or cup, the powdered nutritional food is spilledaround the large container which must be later wiped up and cleaned.Moreover, such process is time-consuming.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a dispenser of powderednutrient.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A dispenser is disclosed herein wherein the dispenser can serve a singleserving of a powdered nutrient. The dispenser is removably attachable toa larger container containing the powdered nutrient and operative toreceive and dispense single servings of the powdered nutrient directlyfrom the larger nutrient container. The dispenser has a metering devicethat operates as a ball valve or a guillotine mechanism to dispense asingle serving of the powdered nutrient. Moreover, a stand of thedispenser has a support surface biased in an up position that allows awater container to be slipped under the metering device after depressingthe support surface to a down position. A dispensing tip of the meteringdevice may be disposed within a mouth of the water container so that asthe powdered nutrient is dispensed from the metering device, no powderednutrient is spilled outside of the water container.

More particularly, a dispenser for dispensing a single serve of apowdered nutrient is disclosed. The dispenser may comprise a container,a metering unit and a stand. The container may hold two or more servingsof the powdered nutrient. The container having an opening and a firstpart of a fastening system. The metering unit may define a measuring cupfor measuring the single serve of the powdered nutrient and dispensingthe measured powdered nutrient. The metering unit may have a second partof the fastening system wherein the first and second parts are removablyattachable to each other so that the container is removable from themetering unit when the container is empty and a new container filledwith the powdered nutrient is attachable to the metering unit. The standmay hold the metering unit above a surface.

The measuring cup may be a ball with a cavity with a volume equal to thesingle serve of powdered nutrient. The measuring cup may be rotated atleast 180° so that the measuring cup is filled with the powderednutrient then rotated 180° to empty the powdered nutrient in themeasuring cup into a water bottle.

The metering unit may have a guillotine that may be traversed between anopened position and a closed position. The powdered nutrient may fillthe measuring cup when the guillotine is traversed to the openedposition and preventing a flow of the powdered nutrient to the measuringcup when the guillotine is traversed to the closed position. Theguillotine may be biased to the closed position.

The dispenser may further comprise a vibration unit for facilitatingremoval of the powdered nutrient from the measuring cup into a waterbottle. The vibration unit may be attached to the metering unit.

The first part of the fastening system may be a a screw thread and thesecond part of the fastening system may be a mating screw thread.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a dispenser for powdered nutrient showing a firstembodiment of a metering device and a nutrient container containing thepowdered nutrient;

FIG. 2 illustrates attachment of the metering device shown in FIG. 1with the nutrient container;

FIG. 3 illustrates mounting of the metering device with the nutrientcontainer to a stand of the dispenser;

FIG. 4 illustrates a water container to be disposed under the meteringdevice;

FIG. 5 illustrates the water container disposed under the meteringdevice;

FIG. 6 illustrates a measuring cup of the metering device being rotatedin order to transfer the powdered nutrient from the metering device intothe water container;

FIG. 7 illustrates the measuring cup of the metering device being fullyrotated to transfer the powdered nutrient into the water container;

FIG. 8 illustrates a vibration device and a vibration button forfacilitating transfer of the powdered nutrient from the metering cup ofthe metering device into the water container;

FIG. 9 illustrates action of the vibration device urging the powderednutrient to be transferred from the measuring cup through its dispensingtip and into the water container;

FIG. 10 illustrates the powdered nutrient being dispensed into the watercontainer;

FIG. 11 illustrates the dispenser for powdered nutrient showing a secondembodiment of the metering device and the nutrient container containingpowdered nutrient;

FIG. 12 illustrates attachment of the metering device shown in FIG. 11with the nutrient container;

FIG. 13 illustrates mounting of the metering device with the nutrientcontainer to the stand of the dispenser;

FIG. 14 illustrates the water container to be disposed under themetering device;

FIG. 15 illustrates the water container disposed under the meteringdevice;

FIG. 16 illustrates pulling of a guillotine to fill a lower cavity ofthe metering device;

FIG. 17 illustrates the guillotine traversed back to its originalposition which separates upper and lower cavities of the meteringdevice;

FIG. 18 illustrates vibration of the metering device in order to urgeall of the powdered nutrient out of the metering device;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of themetering device;

FIG. 20 illustrates the dispenser for powdered nutrient showing a thirdembodiment of the metering device and the nutrient container containingthe powdered nutrient;

FIG. 21 illustrates attachment of the metering device shown in FIG. 20with the nutrient container;

FIG. 22 illustrates mounting of the metering device with the nutrientcontainer to the stand of the dispenser;

FIG. 23 illustrates the water container to be disposed under themetering device shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 illustrates the water container disposed under the meteringdevice shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 25 illustrates an auger being rotated in order to transfer thepowdered nutrient from the metering device into the water container; and

FIG. 26 illustrates the vibration device and the vibration button forfacilitating and urging transfer of the powdered nutrient from themetering cup of the metering device into the water container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, a dispenser 10, 10 a, 10 b (see FIGS. 1,11 and 20) for dispensing a single serving of a powdered nutrient 12into a water container 14 is shown. The dispenser 10, 10 a, 10 bsupports a nutrient container 16 above a support surface 18 which istraversable between a biased up position and a down position so that amouth 20 of the water container 14 may receive a dispensing tip 22 a, b,c of a metering device 24 a, b, c as shown in FIGS. 5, 15 and 24.Moreover, the metering device 24 a, b, c may have a vibration unit 62,64 to facilitate extraction of the powdered nutrient 12 out of thedispensing tip 22 a, b, c into the mouth 20 of the water container 14,as shown in FIGS. 9, 18 and 26. Since the dispensing tip 22 a, b, c isdisposed in the mouth 20 of the water container 14, the powderednutrient 12 is directly inserted into the mouth 20 of the watercontainer 14 and no possibility of a spill of the powdered nutrient 12is possible. To dispense the powdered nutrient 12 from the nutrientcontainer 16 to the water container 14, a metering cavity 28 a, b, c(see FIGS. 5, 14 and 23) of the metering device 24 a, b, c is filledwith the powdered nutrient 12. In the dispenser 10 shown in FIG. 6, themetering cavity 28 a is rotated 180° so that an opening 30 is traversedto be pointed downward and the powdered nutrient 12 in the meteringcavity 28 a is poured into the water container 14. In the dispenser 10 ashown in FIG. 14, a guillotine 32 of the metering device 24 b is pulledto drop the powdered nutrient from the metered cavity 28 b into thedispensing tip 22 b and into the water container 14 as shown in FIG. 16.The metering cavity 28 a, b may be sized to equal a single serving ofthe powdered nutrient 12. In the dispenser 10 b shown in FIG. 23, anauger is rotated to flow downward the powdered nutrient from the cavity28 c into the dispensing tip 22 c and into the water container 14 asshown in FIGS. 25 and 26.

Referring now to a first embodiment of the metering device 24 a shown inFIGS. 1-10, the metering device 24 a may have internal threads 34 thatare removably attachable to external threads 36 of the nutrientcontainer 16, as shown in FIG. 2. Although the attachment mechanismbetween the metering device 24 a, b and the nutrient container 14 isshown as being mating threads 34, 36, other attachment mechanisms mayalso be implemented including but not limited to over-center latches,friction fit, etc. so long as the powdered nutrient 12 contained in thenutrient container 16 does not leak out of the connection or attachmentbetween the metering device 24 a, b and the nutrient container 16.

The nutrient container 16 may have an interior volume sufficient tocarry two or more servings of the powdered nutrient 12. Preferably, thenutrient container 16 has an interior volume sufficient to carry onehundred (100) or more servings of the powdered nutrient 12. Thedispenser 10, 10 a may be used as a point-of-sale device for sellingsingle servings of the powdered nutrient 12 to potential customers thatmay want to purchase the powdered nutrient 12 in bulk. The customer isallowed to try a single serving before purchasing the powdered nutrientin bulk. To this end, the dispenser 10, 10 a may be placed on a retailstore countertop and customers may sample or buy a single serving of thepowdered nutrient 12. Alternatively, the dispenser 10, 10 a may also beused personally and placed on a countertop at a person's home, workoutgym or office desk. The user dispenses a single serving of the powderednutrient 12 as desired. In this regard, the dispenser may be purchasedin combination with the powdered nutrient in the nutrient container.

The dispenser 10, 10 a may include a stand 36 and metering device 24 a,b. The container 16 is secured to the metering device 24 a, b by way ofa threaded connection as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and FIGS. 12 and 13. Toconnect the metering device 24 a, b to the container 16, a cap 38 of thecontainer 16 is removed to expose the threads 35 of the container 16.The metering device 24 a, b is inverted as shown in FIGS. 2 and 12 andthreaded onto the threads 35 of the container 16. The powdered nutrient12 in the container 16 cannot slip between the threaded connectionbetween the metering device 24 a, b and container 16. The only way thatthe powdered nutrient 12 is dispensed out of the container 16 is throughthe dispensing tip 22 of the metering device 24 a, b as discussedherein. With the metering device 24 a, b attached to the container 16,the metering device 24 a, b and the container 16 are inverted as shownin FIGS. 3 and 13. The stand 36 of the dispenser 10 may have a collar 40which receives and stabilizes the metering device 24 a and the container16 in the inverted position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 14. In particular,the collar 40 may have a stepped circular configuration which receives acircular outer diameter 44 of the metering device 24 a, b. An innerdiameter 42 of the collar 40 may be sized and configured to an outerdiameter 44 of the metering device 24 a, b so as to have a friction fittherebetween. In this manner, any slight nudging of the container 16does not cause the container 16 to fall off of the stand 36. The collar40 may also have an opening 48 that allows the user to have access to ahandle 50 of the metering device 24 a when the metering device 24 a issecured to the stand 36, as shown in FIG. 4 or a guillotine handle 68 ofthe metering device 24 b, as shown in FIG. 14.

The stand 36 may additionally have a plurality of vertical supportcolumns 52 that extend downward from the collar 40 and is attached tothe base 54. The vertical support columns 52 are positioned so as toallow the water container 14 to be disposed underneath the dispensingtip 22 a, b of the metering device and withdrawn therefrom to allow theuser to consume the water and nutrient powder 12 in the water container14. The base 54 may incorporate the support surface 18. The supportsurface 18 may be traversed between a biased up position as shown inFIGS. 4 and 14 and a depressed position to allow the water container 14to be inserted under the dispensing tip 22 a, b with the dispensing tip22 a, b at least partially inserted into the mouth 20 of the watercontainer 14 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 15. In particular, the supportsurface 18 may have a spring 56 disposed underneath the support surface18, as shown in FIG. 5. In order to place the water container 14 on thesupport surface 18, the user angles the water container 14 so that thebottom end 58 of the water container 14 contacts the support surface 18.The user pushes the support surface 18 down to the depressed position.At this moment, a distance 70 between the dispensing tip 22 a, b and thesupport surface 18 is greater than a height 72 of the water container 14as shown in FIGS. 4 and 14. The user can now rotate the water container14 under the dispensing tip 22 a, b so that the mouth 20 of the watercontainer 14 is disposed directly beneath the dispensing tip 22 a, b ofthe metering device 24 a, b. In this position, the user releases thewater container 14 to allow the water container 14 to be verticallytraversed under power from the spring 56 (see FIGS. 5 and 15) as thesupport surface 18 resumes its biased up position. In this position, thewater container 14 is slightly raised and the dispensing tip 22 a, b isdisposed within the mouth 20 of the water container 14, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 15.

The metering device 24 a, b is in fluid communication with the container16. In the first embodiment of the metering device 24 a, a measuring cup59 within the metering device 24 a has an opening 60 that is pointedupward (see FIG. 3) so that the powdered nutrient 12 in the container 16can flow downward and into a metered cavity 28 a of the measuring cup59, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In order to ensure that the meteredcavity 28 a is completely filled with the powdered nutrient 12, the usermay depress a vibration button 62 which actuates a vibration device 64in the metering device 24 a. The vibration device 64 vibrates thecontainer 16 and the metering device 24 a to urge the powdered nutrient12 into the metered cavity 28 a of the measuring cup 59.

The user can either turn off the vibration device 64 by depressing thevibration button 62 again or leave the vibration device 64 on tocontinually impart a slight vibration to the metering device 24 a as theuser turns the handle 50 to have to powdered nutrient 12 transferredinto the water container 14. When the opening 60 is pointed downward asshown in FIG. 7, a portion of the powdered nutrient 12 may be retainedwithin the measuring cup 50 a. To dispense all of the powdered nutrient12 into the water container 14, the vibration 64 vibrates the powderednutrient 12 in the measuring cup 50 a to urge the powdered nutrient outof the measuring cup 50 a. As shown in FIG. 6, as the handle 50 isrotated 180° as indicated by rotational arrow 66, the opening 60 beginsto allow the powdered nutrient 12 to flow through the dispensing tip 22a. Once the handle is rotated 180°, the opening 60 is pointed downwardinto the mouth 20 of the water container 14. The powdered nutrient 12 ispoured through the mouth 20 and into the water container 14. Thevibration device 64 may be turned on before or after turning the handle50 to orient the opening 60 downward to urge all of the powderednutrient into the water container.

If the vibration device 64 was turned off or was never turned on, then asmall amount of powdered nutrient 12 may remain stuck within themeasuring cup 59 or the dispensing tip 22 a of the metering device 24 a.To allow the powdered nutrient 12 or all of the powdered nutrient 12 tobe poured out of the measuring cup 59 and the dispensing tip 28, theuser may turn the vibration device 64 on by depressing the vibrationbutton 62. The vibration urges the powdered nutrient 12 to completelyflow into the water container 14 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

The user may grip the water container 14 and press downward on thesupport surface 18 in order to compress spring 56 which allows the userto tilt the water container 14 away from the dispensing tip 22 a andremove the water container 14. The user may put a cap 38 of the watercontainer 14 back on in order to shake and mix the powdered nutrient 12and the water in the water container 14 together. The cap 38 is removedfrom the water container 14 so that the user can drink the powdereddrink.

The handle 50 can be rotated 180° so that the opening 60 is realignedback to the container 16 and the powdered nutrient 12 in the nutrientcontainer 16 fills the measuring cup 59 back up again. The next user canthen place a water container 14 under the dispensing tip 22 as explainedabove and rotate the handle in order to dispense more powdered nutrient12 in the water container 14.

The measuring cup 59 has a metered cavity 28 a so that a predefinedquantity or volume of powdered nutrient 12 is disposed in the measuringcup 59.

In the second embodiment of the metering device 24 b, an internal spaceof the metering device 24 b may be separated into an upper cavity 90 anda lower cavity 92, as shown in FIG. 19. The powdered nutrient disposedin the nutrient container 16 flows first into the upper cavity 90 and isstopped by a guillotine 32. The guillotine 32 has the handle 68, a blade94, a return spring 96 and a return spring rod 98. At the end of the rod98, a stop plate 100 is used to compress the spring 96 when the handle68 is pulled in the direction of arrow 102 in order to transfer thepowdered nutrient 12 from the upper cavity 90 to the lower cavity 92.The volume of the lower cavity 92 may be equal to a single serving ofthe powdered nutrient 12. Additionally, it is also contemplated that thevolume of the lower cavity 92 may be equal to two or more servings ofthe powdered nutrient 12. When the guillotine 32 is pulled in thedirection of arrow 102, the powdered nutrient 12 is transferred andfills up the lower cavity 92. When the guillotine 32 is released, theupper and lower cavities 90, 92 are now separated by the blade 94. Thevibration device 64 is turned on to vibrate the powdered nutrient out ofthe lower cavity 92 through the distal tip 22 b and into the watercontainer 14.

Referring now to FIG. 15, powdered nutrient 12 may be disposed withinthe lower cavity 92. The blade 94 separates the upper and lower cavities90, 92. The user may depress the vibration button 62 to actuate thevibration device 64. The distal tip 22 b of the metering device 24 b isnot closed but is opened. When the powdered nutrient 12 is filled intothe lower cavity 92 upon pulling of the guillotine 32 in the direction102, a small amount of the powdered nutrient 12 may now fall through thedistal tip 22 b. However, a majority of the powdered nutrient 12 isstuck within the lower cavity 92. As shown in FIG. 19, a side wall 104of the lower cavity 92 may have an angle 106 with respect to a verticalaxis 108 by adjusting the sidewall 104 and the angle 106 vertical axis;the volume of the lower cavity 92 may be increased by decreasing suchangle 106 or decreased by increasing such angle 106. As the angle 106 isincreased, less of the powdered nutrient 12 simply flows through thedistal tip 22 b and remains stuck within the lower cavity 92. The angle106 and the cavitational volume of the lower cavity 92 may be sized andconfigured so that when the guillotine 32 is traversed in the directionof arrow 102 and the blade 94 is traversed to allow the powderednutrient to flow in the lower cavity 92, a predetermined amount ofpowdered nutrient 12 is flowed into the lower cavity 92 which is nowready to be dispensed into the water container 14.

With the powdered nutrient 12 disposed within the lower cavity 92, asdiscussed above, the user releases the guillotine to insert the blade 94between the upper and lower cavities The user may then depress thevibration button 62 which vibrates the metering device 24 b. Thevibration from the vibration device 64 gently vibrates the meteringdevice 24 b and slowly but surely vibrates all of the powdered materialwithin the lower cavity 92 into the water container 14.

In FIG. 15, the lower cavity 92 may be emptry and not filled with thepowdered nutrients. To fill the lower cavity 92 with powdered nutrient12, the user pulls on the handle 68 in the direction of arrow 102. Indoing so, the blade 94 (see FIG. 19) is moved out of the way laterallyso that powdered nutrient 12 in the upper cavity 90 is flowed into thelower cavity 92. The bottom distal tip 22 b of the metering device 24 bis not closed and always remains opened. As such, when the guillotine 32is pulled, some of the powdered nutrient 12 escapes out of the distaltip 22 b as shown in FIG. 16. The user then releases the guillotine 32.As shown in FIG. 19, the spring 96 when the guillotine 32 is pulled inthe direction of arrow 102 is compressed. When the user releases theguillotine 32, the spring pushes the guillotine back so that the blade94 is now separating the upper and lower cavities 90, 92. In order toflow the powdered nutrient 12 out of the lower cavity 92 and into thewater container 14, the user may now depress the vibration button 62 toactivate the vibration device 64 which in turn flows the powderednutrient 12 out of the lower cavity 92 and into the water container 14.

The user may now grip the water container 14 and press downward on thesupport surface 18 in order to compress spring 56 which allows the userto tilt the water container 14 away from the dispensing tip 22 b andremove the water container 14. The user may put a cap 38 of the watercontainer 14 back on in order to shake and mix the powdered nutrient 12and the water in the water container 14 together. The cap 38 is removedfrom the water container 14 so that the user can drink the powdereddrink 12.

When the next user wants to sample a single serving of the powderednutrient 12, the user disposes his or her water container 14 under thedispensing tip 22 b and pulls on the guillotine 32 in order to start theprocess over again.

In the third embodiment of the metering device 24 c, the internal spaceof the metering device 24 c is separated into upper and lower cavities290, 292, as shown in FIG. 22. The powdered nutrient disposed in thenutrient container 16 flows into the upper cavity 290 first and isstopped by an auger 232. The auger 232 has a handle 268 and a twist 294formed about shank 296. The twist 294 and shank 296 are rotatable byturning handle 268 about axis 266. The auger 232 is rotated and suchrotation urges the powdered nutrient in the upper cavity 290 to flowinto the lower cavity 292 in a continuous flow. The handle 268 isrotated until the powdered nutrient 12 has filled the water container 14to the desired level by the user. Additionally, the auger 232 in termsof its twist 294 and shank 296 may meter out a pre-determined volume ofpowdered nutrient per revolution of handle 268 about axis 266. Afterrotating the auger 232, the user may activate vibration unit 62, 64 toensure that any powdered nutrient 12 that is stuck in the lower cavity292 is urged out of the distal tip 22 c of the metering device 24 c intothe water bottle.

Referring now to FIGS. 20 and 21, the metering device 24 c may beattached to the nutrient container 16 through a threaded attachment. Inparticular, a lid 30 a is removed from the nutrient container 16 whichexposes threads 35 which mates with threads 34 of the metering device 24c. Once the metering device 24 c is attached to the nutrient container16 as shown in FIG. 22, the assembly 24 c, 16 is oriented upside downand inserted into stand 36. The stand 36 has an inner diameter 42 thatreceives outer diameter 44 of the metering device 22 c. Preferably, theupper periphery of the stand 36 has an L-shaped ledge that receives andsupports the assembly 24 c, 16 therein. Once the assembly 24 c, 16 isdisposed on the stand 36, the distal tip 22 c is aligned centrally abovethe support surface 18 of the stand 36. The distance 270 between thedistal tip 22 c of the metering device 24 c and the support surface 18is less than a length 72 of the water container 14. In this manner, thedistal tip 22 c is inserted into the mouth 20 of the water container 14when the water container 14 is disposed on the support surface 18 asshown in FIG. 24. The water bottle 24 may be disposed on the supportsurface 18 with the distal tip 22 c inserted into the mouth of the waterbottle 14 by pressing down on the spring-loaded support surface 18,pivoting the mouth 20 under the distal tip 22 c and releasing the waterbottle 14. At this time, the spring 56 pushes the water bottle 14 upwardso that the distal tip 22 c of the metering device 24 c is inserted intothe mouth 20 of the water container 14.

Referring now to FIG. 25, the handle 268 may be rotated about axis 266.In doing so, the twist 294 is also rotated. By rotating the twist 294,the powdered nutrient 12 is urged around the shaft 296 and into thelower cavity 292 where gravity will force the powdered nutrient 12 outof the distal tip 22 c and into the water container 14. The upper andlower cavities 290, 292 may be sized and configured in order to matewith the outer diameter of the twist 292 so that any powdered nutrient12 that is transferred from the upper cavity 290 to the lower cavity 292must pass between the twist and not around and outside of the twist 292.The twist 292 may have a distance 288 between the twist 292 that doesnot allow the powdered nutrient 12 to simply flow downward from theupper cavity 290 to the lower cavity 292 if the auger 232 is not beingrotated. A depth of the twist 286 and the length 284 may be sized andconfigured so that each revolution of the handle 268 dispenses apredetermined amount of powdered nutrient 12 from the upper cavity 290to the lower cavity 292. By way of example and not limitation, onerevolution of the handle 268 may dispense one serving of the powderednutrient 12 into the lower cavity 292.

The handle is rotated 268 until the desired amount of powdered nutrient12 is transferred into the water container 14. However, when the handle268 is not rotated, a small volume of powdered nutrient 12 may be stuckat a distal portion of the metering device 24 c, as shown in FIG. 26. Inthis regard, the user may press a button 62 in order to actuate thevibration device 64 that frees up the powdered nutrient 12 and allowsgravity to force the powdered nutrient 12 to flow into the watercontainer 14.

The metering device 24 c may operate so that each revolution orpredetermined angular rotation of the handle 268 may dispense apre-determined quantity of powdered nutrient. Alternatively, themetering device 24 c may be operated so that the user continues torotate the handle 268 until the powdered nutrient 12 fills the waterbottle to the desired amount. Once the desired amount or proper amountof powdered nutrient 12 is disposed in the water container 14, the userstops rotating the handle 268 and presses the vibration button 62 toeliminate any powdered nutrient 12 from the metering device 24 c beforethe removal of the water container 14. The user then turns off thevibration device 62 by depressing the vibration button 62 again. Thewater container 14 is pressed downward to traverse the support surface18 down so that the water container 14 can be removed from the stand 36.The user puts a cap back on the water container 14, shakes the watercontainer 14 and drinks the fluid.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein, including various ways of configuring the stand.Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can beused alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are notintended to be limited to the specific combination described herein.Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustratedembodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dispenser for dispensing a single serve of apowdered nutrient, the dispenser comprising: a container for holding twoor more servings of the powdered nutrient, the container having anopening and a first part of a fastening system; a metering unit defininga measuring cup for measuring the single serve of the powdered nutrientand dispensing the measured powdered nutrient, the metering unit havinga second part of the fastening system wherein the first and second partsare removably attachable to each other so that the container isremovable from the metering unit when the container is empty and a newcontainer filled with the powdered nutrient is attachable to themetering unit; a stand for holding the metering unit above a surface. 2.The dispenser of claim 1 wherein the measuring cup is a ball with acavity with a volume equal to the single serve of powdered nutrient. 3.The dispenser of claim 2 wherein the measuring cup is rotatable at least180° so that the measuring cup is fillable with the powdered nutrientthen rotated 180° to empty the powdered nutrient in the measuring cupinto a water bottle.
 4. The dispenser of claim 1 wherein the meteringunit has a guillotine traversable between an opened position and aclosed position, the powdered nutrient filling the measuring cup whenthe guillotine is traversed to the opened position and preventing a flowof the powdered nutrient to the measuring cup when the guillotine istraversed to the closed position.
 5. The dispenser of claim 1 whereinguillotine is biased to the closed position.
 6. The dispenser of claim 1wherein the metering unit has a rotateable auger for flowing thepowdered nutrient from an upper cavity to a lower cavity.
 7. Thedispenser of claim 1 further comprising a vibration unit forfacilitating removal of the powdered nutrient from the measuring cupinto a water bottle, the vibration unit being attached to the meteringunit.
 8. The dispenser of claim 1 wherein the first part of thefastening system is a screw thread and the second part of the fasteningsystem is a mating screw thread.